How will the integration of new ad-blocking technology, such as Apple’s latest mobile iOS software update, affect the current state of the free Internet and the future of publishing?
According to a recent article in Business Insider, more than 200 million Internet users deploy some kind of ad-blocking software. Apple is also launching a new version of iOS that makes ad blocking almost native for mobile.
Apparently, users are no longer buying into the unspoken pact between themselves and publishers: to access free content on the Web, one must view the ads that pay publishers. This profit enables publishers to continue publishing free content for users. Today, it seems as if looking at ads has become either too much of a burdensome nuisance, or ad blocking has become too simple.
